So, you made it through the grueling and exhausting process of applying to occupational therapy (OT) school and you got accepted; you deserve a HUGE congratulations (and maybe even a vacation)! Over the course of applying, I’m sure friends and family asked endless times, “What exactly is occupational therapy?” At times I feel like I […]
I quickly learned in graduate school (in my physiology and neuroscience courses) that I learn best with flow charts – when I can form a plan and visualize what steps come next. The same is true for me now when treating a patient in my hand therapy setting. Regardless of how simple or complicated the […]
As an occupational therapist, you know how wide of a variety of jobs we have to choose from. From inpatient rehab, acute care, pediatrics, home health, neuro outpatient, and of course, hand therapy. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in hand therapy, you will likely want to consider becoming a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) […]
If you’re looking to become an occupational therapist, you might be wondering if you should pursue a Master’s in Occupational Therapy (MOT) or a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD). The MOT vs OTD debate has been a bit of a controversial and contentious one, particularly due to the possible OTD mandate happening in 2027. Because […]
Occupation-based interventions: It may seem like common sense to use these as occupational therapists. After all, our title has the word “occupation” in it, for goodness sake! Unfortunately, assembly-line therapy has reduced the use of occupation-based treatments in favor of exercises that make point of service and high productivity the main objective versus providing quality, […]
So you want to be an occupational therapist, but you still have to jump through the hoops of applying for grad programs. One mandatory part of the process is writing a great personal statement specifically for OT school, which can be pretty intimidating when it’s time to put pen to paper. Well, I’m here to […]
Whether you work as an occupational therapist or COTA in home health, outpatient, acute care, rehab, or in a long term care facility, you will certainly encounter patients with a dementia diagnosis or co-morbidity. If you work primarily with older adults, this might even be a large percentage of your patients. In this article, I […]
From the first time we enter class as aspiring occupational therapists, we find ourselves surrounded by a community of peers sharing a similar experience. The best occupational therapy forums have the ability to extend that environment beyond physical encounters into online spaces. That camaraderie, whether enjoyed in person or digitally, provides a support network through […]
The following article on Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (along with Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy) was guest-authored by Janet Meydam, OTR/L and Meredith Chandler, OTR/L. We want to give both of them a huge thanks for sharing their insight and research for this article. According to the National Stroke Association, it is estimated that 9 out of […]
My interest in all things “vision” in the occupational therapy world has been stewing for several years. Working as an occupational therapist in inpatient rehab, I became interested in perceptual skills but did not dive into furthering my education or competency because I was more concerned with continuing education courses designed for stroke recovery, neuro-shoulder […]